Jewish Lilith ~ Hindu Lalitha? / Celtic Brigid ~ Hindu Kali?

09-28-2004, 01:10 AM

Concerning the qualities of Women in the Western tradition, here are some of my
own thoughts:

LILITH

The real derivation of the name of "Lilith" may stem from the Eastern figure of
Tripura-Sundari, who is also known as "Lalita", "The Playful", or "She who
Ever Desires to Sport with Her Lord"

What is the connection between Lilith and Brigid? Sex and Fire, to name
two...Lilith is the incarnation of the sexual power of the Feminine, and Brigid
was definitely connected with sex, it is where we get the word "Breed", as in
"breeding" animals, and Her rites were celebrated orgiastically. The Cross of
Brigid is a fiery Wheel, and Lilith is connected with "the Flame of the
Revolving Sword" that guards the Garden of Eden, and is said to be flaming fire
from the waist down. Brigid has a warrior aspect too, and Lilith is "the Woman
on the Side of Din", or Mars, who is entitled to punish Mankind for its sins
against God, much like the original Jewish "Accuser" who later became twisted
into "Satan" as the one who actively LED man to sin, rather than who kept a
record of Mankind's sins.

A very great deal of what is written about Lilith is obviously fabricated to
turn Her into a bogey to scare people away...it is claimed on one hand that She
was "thrown out" of the Garden of Eden, and on the other, that She left because
She couldn't take being treated as less than Adam, well, if She was "thrown out"
then why would God send angels to fetch Her back? And why
was it that they were not able to do so? Possibly because She was too powerful
for them, perhaps?

Lilith is connected with Da'ath on the Tree of Life, and is the one who lends
the necessary help to those who wish to cross the Abyss over to Binah. This is
why She is sometimes referred to as "the Handmaiden" of the Shekinah (Binah).
Those who fail to do so are trapped in the shadowy realm of Da'ath, hence Her
title as "Queen of Demons", as Da'ath also leads to the Qliphoth as well. Those
who misuse magickal sexuality find their nemesis here. Most women will
never make it this far, they are too embroiled in their biology, which is the
maya of women. As the Book of the Law points out, surrendering to the Lower
tendencies disqualifies women immediately from the Higher. All connections to
the physical must be relinquished, and this is no less true of women as men, but
the maya of women is more insidious, because it is couched in layers of
sentiment, both public and personal, and biological promptings of a very
powerful kind. A woman has to "kill her heart" in order to make REAL progress.

A very good example of this process is the terrifyingfigure of the Tibetan Deity
Palden Lha-Mo, who wears the skins of Her two children to demonstrate Her
relentless dedication to Her role as Supreme Guardian of the Dharma. The reason
Tibet is undergoing such dreadful suffering is because they are paying for
centuries of the lamas' abuse of magickal power...Lha-Mo is not going to
overlook THEIR sins just because She is their Guardian Deity.

It is apparent that the Jews hated and feared the sexual power of Woman,
embodied in the figure of Lilith, and demonized it. The reason orthodox Jewish
women are forced to shave their heads and make themselves as "unsexy" as
possible is to suppress their "Lilith" natures... also they are expected to
bear as many children as possible so they will be thoroughly entangled in maya
and be too busy to give any thought to anything outside motherhood. But the
punishing spectre of Lilith returns to them through the all-devouring,
castrating stereotype of the "jewish mother", which is very far from being an
anti-semitic joke, but an all-too-real person.

BRIGID

http://druidry.org/obod/deities/brigid.html

In Britain She is shown as the warrior-maiden, Brigantia, and venerated not only
as justice and authority in that country, but also as the personification of
Britain as is seen on the coin of the realm. There is a story, coming from the
12th century, in which Merlin is inspired by a feminine figure who represents
the sovereignty of the Land of Britain. She causes his visions to reach through
British history, on, so it is said, to the end of the solar system. Taliesin
also describes a traditional cosmology, inspired by Brigantia. She is central to
many heroic myths, especially those concerned with
underworld quests and sacred kingship. This seems to relate to Her concern for
the development of human potential.

Her important association with the cow, coupled with its critical necessity in
Celtic culture and history, relates to the festival of Imbolc. This celebration,
which is so completely Hers, involves itself with the
lighting of fires, purification with well water and the ushering in of the new
year (Spring) by a maiden known as the Queen of the Heavens. The significance of
Imbolc is so deep that it deserves an entire section within any work relating to
Brigid.

She possesses an unusual status as a Sun Goddess Who hangs Her Cloak upon the
rays of the Sun and Whose dwelling-place radiates light as if on fire.

Her stories retain remnants of other Goddesses from the ancient worlds and the
worship at Her later convent at Kildare was said to resemble that of Minerva.
Some of Her symbols are identical to the Egyptian Goddess, Isis. Her embroidery
tools, which are also Minerva's symbols, were preserved at the
chapel at Glastonbury, along with Her bag and Her bell, symbolic of healing. Her
colors - white, black and red - are those of Kali and show an ancient
connection there.

In one incident, clearly defining the position of women in this new warrior
class, a woman petitioned Brigid for justice. Her lands and holdings were about
to be taken from her after the death of her parents. Brigid, however, ruled that
it was the woman's decision to either take the land as a warrior, being
prepared to use arms to protect her holdings and her people. If she decided not
to take on this privilege, half her land should go to her tribe. But, if she
chose to hold the land and support it militarily, she was permitted to hold the
land in its entirety.

Part of the ancient Mysteries of Brighid have to do with tending the fire of
love. The art of Smithcraft, of which Brighid is Patroness - Goddess, is the
outer and secular form of the ancient alchemical art. The Fire in the Mountain,
see the Tarot card of the Princess of Wands.

Thus the 'sword', a life-blade in its literal sense, was 'forged' in the
'hearth' of the Goddess Herself. When considering an ancient Celtic custom, that
the woman armed the young male with his weapons (an example being the tale of
Arianrhod and the arming of Lleu in the fourth Branch of the Mabinogion); one
begins to detect perhaps, an ancient lore concealed
beneath: of an initiation into manhood of a far more inner kind, whereby the
lore of life of the eternal flame of the Goddess passed from an older
Druid-Priestess to a younger Initiate. It is not coincidental that those
responsible for giving birth to each generation were also in charge of
instructing the sons in how to defend that generation. Those who
give life are more reluctant to take it. Perhaps this is also one reason why the
nineteen female Druids dedicated to Brighid lived in seclusion; to maintain
the sanctity of their 'flames' and thereby potentise them. That Brighid's fire
is ashless is worthy of meditation in this regard. It is notable that amongst
the 'fires' revered in contemporary Druidry is the 'fire of creativity' and
anciently Brighid was also considered to be the Patroness of creative activities
such as the Bardic Arts of poetry, music and song.
This brings consideration of the role Brighid plays with regard to all the arts
associated with language in general, including speech, the magick of
invocations and words of evocation, spell-crafting and oath-taking. This is
particularly important, for the satire of the ancient poets contained a baleful
magick, much as their beneficent songs gave forth Magickal blessings. The
interlocking of the two areas of inner fire and outward expression are thus seen
to be harmoniously balanced within the lore of Bride.

Brigit was often identified with the new moon, which was viewed as the beginning
of growth. She was the flame itself which ignited the creative thought within
mankind. In earlier times, people would carry an
effigy of the goddess in chariots and then throw it into the sea or a lake to
celebrate her festival, Feile Bhride or Oimlec. To many of her followers, she
was the goddess of fire who was born at sunrise and whose breath could revive
the dead to live again.

Brigit is indeed one, like Hekate, represented as triple goddess - Maiden,
Mother and Crone, as well as in the correspondant three aspects, white, red and
black, the synthesis/ASD.

The region from the Iberian Peninsula, Gallaecia, is a territory inhabited by
the Celts and its patroness is Brigantia (as the capital of the
region, Braganza (BrUH-gun-TZAH), this name stems from her). Remnants
of fire rituals are still held, like house-size bonfires on new year's
eve all night, or initiatory rituals that remained as traditional feasts, now
reserved only to men/boys (thus going back, and inverted in the patriarchal
process, these rituals were women only).

Brigid's connection with the Solar path is inevitable, as the Magna Mater
also brings forth the Sun, and most rites from the region that are
now being taken by the "pagan" minority (basically national-socialists and
social darwinists that like to rip off the ancient traditions) are
solar-oriented; we can find elements such as natural stone formations with
carved footpaths, sacrificial holes carved in the stones with evident vulvar
forms, triskeles and swastikas carved in the stones of romanic churches, certain
regional traditions related to the sacrifice/slaying of the first pig in
winter, etc etc.

Various stone sows can be found in the region, also remnants of the fertility
rituals, the Sow being connected with Cerridwen that has been defined as "Old
White One" and "Black Crone" - the animal standing between the two sides of the
abyss. The "White One" is also the one who milks the ewes (another name for
Imbolc is "Oimelc" - ewe's milk, literally) but, behold, a weaver/spinner,
who weaves the (white and black...) wool from the ewes - there are records also
of Saint Brigid being the foster mother of baby Jesus, and in the Thomas
Apocrypha somewhere can be read that a web was woven to protect the infant...

Imbolc's celebration, where the Magna Mater watches over Her beloved Son as he
is brought forth with the succession of the seasons, is also a celebration of
union, even if just by the elements of Her fire and the ice that starts to break
and give way to nature's rebirth at this time in the year. This mirrors well her
triple aspect, as Maiden/bride waiting in the bedchamber, the Mother/Lover
revealed in the ritual fire and blood, and the Crone who sheds her
skin behind leaving it with the melting ice. As of shedding the skin, Brigit is
also the Triple Mother graced by the snake, it being a predictor of
the lenght of the remaining winter as it comes from the mound where it
hibernates. Her ally the serpent (symbol of Lilith) that rises from the hidden
earth, and Brigit as the guardian of the wells gives her the whole Cthonian
link to the Magna Mater Cthonia who dissolves ultimately the link between the
solar and cthonian currents, the black earth begetting the (black) sun.

Mirroring this with Lilith, where Lilith comes to Adam in a snake form, and
later the serpent that rapes Eve to give birth to the antagonist Cain, we are
facing a cosmogony far more ancient and deep than Celtic and Judeo-
Christian myths.

Preparing already for the next take, Lilith is the embodiment of Despair, the
despair of the Mother/lover that wishes to face the Consort in the eye but has
him subjecting her to a lower position, thus her own revolt, and her turning
into a Succubus, more than being an evil vampire sucking the life force of
innocent men, a despaired thing whose love has been disgracefully turned away
and the only thing she can cling to is to feed from dreams and the seed spilt in
dreams. May our own knowledge of Lilith's ordeal help her and us
in the process to free this/these spirits and enable them to look in
the eyes and give them the warm blood in exchange for eternities of
longing. The New Moon, when the carriers of the XY chromosome cannot defend
themselves from Lilith and are ground down, is but the time of overthrow and
cyclical counteract of a conflict.

Again, and this is pretty much like the Tower of Babel, to attain the
universality depicted and couldn't-be-more-perfectly shown by the Black
Mother/Son or the bringing forth of RHK, it is urgent and necessary that "they
speak by the same tongue", that the Son bows in worship before the Mother for
She is the ultimate, and absolute power; and he cannot take to full term his
missions without Her grace.

> As the Book of the Law points out, a woman has to "kill her heart" in
> order to make REAL progress.

And to obtain her grace, he must restore Her heart...

This killing is like the unspeakable mourning of the Mother for the loss of Her
son, a pain that is beyond any human understanding that only those graced by it
are able to know in depth. The very few blessed with the depth and the
absolute of the Hieros Gamos may be able to feel that unspeakable pain
when torn from their consort/lifemate. No real progress can be made from that
point unless the real progress is the labour of Isis, to gather patiently the
pieces of Osiris to bring him again to life, with as much pain as one can bear
gathering the pieces of her own torn heart and avoiding them/him to be eaten by
some nasty thing along the way.

Why is Mary depicted with her Sacred Heart bleeding, her guts on display, often
encircled in fire or with a crown of thorns? Nothing but to represent the heart
killed or almost killed, but Mary unlike Isis does nothing to gather body parts
- whereas, there is NO Black Virgin known holding a dead son, for the record:
the Black Mother and the Black Son are ALWAYS depicted in Majesty and Union: She
holds the divine Child in her arms or lap, and Her hand guides his to hold the
Orb of the Universe, but he holds it by the order of HER hand, thus confirming
Her sovereignty. This is ultimately the point to achieve,
not only to kill the heart but to be able to gather the pieces and transfix the
infinite through the tears of the structure and achieve the Union
*after* that process, which is nothing but the Universal succession of
disruptive elements, essential to make ANY revolution possible. Otherwise there
is just stagnation. There is this parallel of the Mourning one in Brigit also:
(quote)

The marriage of Brigid to Bres was essentially an alliance to bring peace
between two warring factions. She was of the Danu and he of the Fomorians. With
the intermarriage, war was hopefully averted. Ruadan, Brigid's eldest son, used
the knowledge of smithing given to him by his maternal kin, the Danu, against
them by killing their smith, a sacred position within the tribe. This smith
killed Ruadan before dying himself. Brigid's grief and lamentations were said to
be the first heard in Ireland and were not only an expression
of mourning for the loss of Her son but also for the enmity between maternal and
paternal factions of family. This was seen as the beginning of the end for the
Old Ways. And so, the Irish story of Original Sin was the act against maternal
kinship rather than that of sexuality since sexuality, which brings the sacred
position of motherhood, was seen as positive by the Celts.

Sophia

09-28-2004, 03:27 PM

Well, I dunno about your OWN thoughts...the piece on
"Lilith" was written by ME some time ago. Glad you
found it worthy to quote! If I recall correctly, it
was part of a letter I sent to a friend who writes for
an occult publication in Europe.
Lilith M.

--- sophia witch wrote:

> Concerning the qualities of Women in the Western
> tradition, here are some of my own thoughts: